www.roanoke.com

The former director of Virginia Tech's Cook Counseling Center "inadvertently" packed up mental health records of Tech shooter Seung-Hui Cho and several other students as he was preparing to leave the center in 2006, according to a statement released Thursday by his lawyer.

Former director Robert Miller released the statement through lawyer Ed McNelis' office. It explains how Miller came to remove the records more than a year before the campus shootings on April 16, 2007, that left 33 students and faculty dead.

Miller "inadvertently placed documents regarding Mr. Cho in a box he packed with his personal documents during the time he was leaving the Center," the statement reads. He "deeply regrets that his inadvertence has caused so much distress for the families of the victims as well as his former colleagues at Virginia Tech."

Miller returned Cho's records and those of several other students to the university July 16.

When asked in 2007 by Tech officials if he knew the whereabouts of the records, Miller said no, university spokesman Mark Owczarski has said.

The families of two deceased victims, Julia Kathleen Pryde and Erin Nicole Peterson, have lawsuits pending in Montgomery County Circuit Court against the state, university, the New River Valley Community Services Board and Cho's estate. Miller and several Tech officials are named as defendants in the case.

According to Miller's statement, he was surprised to find Cho's records while searching his home for "documents regarding his former employment at the Center that might be relevant to the civil suit."

Gov. Tim Kaine announced the discovery of the documents Wednesday and said he intends to make them public.

Asked about the statement from Miller's lawyer, Kaine said Thursday: "I had certainly heard through a representative of Dr. Miller that that was an assertion. That's why we've got folks investigating it to determine if that is accurate. It not only is being investigated for the record of what happened, it's also being investigated because there's legal issues with removing files of this kind."

Under Virginia law, medical records belong to "the health care entity maintaining them ... and shall not be removed from the premises where they are maintained without the approval of the health care entity that maintains such health records, except in accordance with a court order or subpoena."

The federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act further governs medical records and sets out detailed privacy rules health care providers must follow in securing them.

Virginia State Police are investigating Miller's handling of Cho's mental health records. Any evidence of a crime will be forwarded to the Montgomery County commonwealth's attorney, state police spokeswoman Corinne Geller has said.

Discovery of the files has pricked old wounds for the families of shooting victims, Tech administrators and others involved in the tragedy. It has also caused some of the families to question whether other information about the case has been mishandled.

"I understand that this is a painful time for them, and I understand why they feel the way they do," Kaine said. "My sense is the right thing to do is just to make these records public as soon as we lawfully can and then everyone can look at the records and make a determination. Does it change the circumstances? Does it change the facts?"

But the release of the records still will leave lingering questions about the worst campus shooting incident in U.S. history, Kaine said.

"Is there a possibility that something else might be discovered? I guess theoretically there is," he said. "But I don't think ... all the questions about this will ever go away. The motivation of this young man is something that will cause confusion and sadness forever. There's never going to be an answer to this that will just wind it up and finish it."

Owczarski commented in a written statement that Miller's explanation "helps clarify the whereabouts of Mr. Cho's mental health records from Cook Counseling Center over the past three and one half years and the circumstances that led to their return. We hope that the contents of the file, once made public, which is our strong desire, will provide important information to the families affected by the tragedy of April 16, 2007, the Virginia Tech community, and to the general public."

Kaine said the state is working to get permission from Cho's family to release the records but would not predict how quickly the information might become public. The records also could become public through a subpoena issued by lawyers for two victims' families that have filed lawsuits against the state, Tech and various officials, Kaine said.

"If the family says yes, it could happen right away," Kaine said in a news conference.

Cho's family has cooperated with the state in making other records available, and Kaine said he hasn't "received any indication that this will be an obstacle."

The missing records have been a source of consternation for victims' families and the panel appointed by Kaine to investigate the tragedy.

The panel found that the counseling center and a team of officials that dealt with troubled students failed to provide needed support and services to Cho in late 2005 and early 2006.

The missing records are expected to detail all of Cho's interactions with Tech counseling staff, most of which occurred in December 2005, according to a timeline compiled by the panel.

Miller was transferred from his post as director of the Cook center to a counseling position with human resources in February 2006, taking Cho's file with him. The panel's timeline shows no further contact between Cho and Tech counseling staff after Miller's departure. State police served a search warrant on the university shortly after the shootings seeking treatment records of Cho, who had a history of behavioral problems. But the counseling center's staff could not find those records.

tonia.moxley@roanoke.com 381-1676

mike.sluss@roanoke.com (804) 697-1585